Non-EVM Layer 1 Blockchain

Optimizing for high performance through new design architectures

In the past few years, many teams have chosen to build outside the Ethereum ecosystem all together by building on new alternative Layer 1 blockchains (Alt L1s). As opposed to the modular approach taken by Ethereum Layer 2 rollups, these Alt L1s are monolithic, meaning they handle all the components of a blockchain (execution, settlement, consensus, and data availability).

These Alt L1s have been optimized for high performance by redesigning the existing architectures of monolithic blockchains.
The implementation of innovative technical solutions — such as sharding or parallel execution — have allowed these blockchains to dramatically increase their throughput while limiting transaction costs, opening up a new set of design possibilities previously not available to builders on Ethereum mainnet.

As a result, many new protocols and Dapps have chosen to build directly on these Alt L1s over the last year.
The Solana and NEAR blockchains, for example, have amassed large ecosystems of users and Dapps, while newer Alt L1s such as Mysten Lab’s Sui Blockchain have also attracted sizable mindshare for new Dapp developers.

Source: Artemis.xyz as of November 28, 2022

Main Advantages of Alt L1s

1. Superior Scalability: High performance Alt L1s have dramatically higher TPS compared to other blockchains, allowing for new primitives (such as blockchain games) to be built that would have been impossible otherwise.

2. Large Ecosystem Development Funds / Grants: Many new Alt L1s come to market with large ecosystem funds or grants programs, incentivizing teams to build their Dapp on their Alt L1 network. This can be extremely useful for bootstrapping developer activity and community growth. A prominent example of this would be NEAR, which launched an $800m ecosystem fund last year to drive ecosystem growth.

3. New developer / infrastructure tooling: Many of these chains have opted for new programming languages (for example, Solana’s Rust and Sui’s Move) that provide certain benefits over Ethereum’s Solidity. This allows for a new class of developers that can come to market with a new set of eyes and add something new to the Web 3 design space.

Main Drawbacks of Alt L1s:

1. Security tradeoffs: While established Alt L1 blockchains have amassed large validator sets, new blockchains have to incentivize validators to come onto their platform to help secure the network. To compensate for this tradeoff, Alt L1s typically benefit from faster and cheaper transactions.

   But this security matters has been exaggerated by Ethereum side.
   Most of issues from Alt 1s also still happen on EVM chains, somtimes more seriously and frequently.
   Non EVM chains have small number of suppoerts comapred with EVM chains. One of biggest example is BSC that is supported by Binance, so most of hacking issues has not considered seriously and supported by Binance and compesation money. And many influencers do not mention loudly about that.

2. Ecosystem isolation: Similar to those on Layer 2 roll ups, Dapps on monolithic Alt L1s have limited composability and interoperability with those on other Alt L1s, limiting Dapps that are dependent on cross-chain capabilities or seeking to attract liquidity away from Ethereum Mainnet.

3. Limited Developer Base: Many of the new programming languages used by Alt L1s have higher learning curves versus Solidity, resulting in a smaller developer base.

After FTX collapse, we will see the real competition rally between all high potential chains.
It would be hard for poor basement and immature chains to get quantum jump competiting fast and rigid growth basement ones.

Source: Amalgamated Token Services